I really enjoyed the movie Arrival. I thought it was a smart science fiction movie that had a fantastic ending which made you think long after seeing the movie. So I was extremely excited to see Oscar nominated ‘Arrival’ writer Eric Heisserer writing for Valiant with an all new series titled Secret Weapons. Valiant continues to impress me with their line of titles which is small, but loosely connected so each title stands mostly apart while still tying into the overall line.

Secret Weapons does this really well by using main Valiant character Livewire, and introducing an all new cast of psiot characters. Heisserer doesn’t try and make each character all powerful and able to go toe-to-toe with Valiant’s most powerful heroes and villains, instead he chooses to make each character unique with powers that, so far, are undervalued at best and seemingly useless at worse.

Livewire has rescued a group of psiots from a Harada facility where those with powers not deemed worthy enough are housed. For example, one character has the ability to speak with birds which on certain occasions can be useful. Another has the ability to conjure random items out of thin air, at random times without any control. Another can turn to stone, but while in stone form can not move (reminiscent of DC’s Legion of Substitute Heroes also-ran ‘Stone Boy’). The art by Raul Allen is gorgeous and is a wonderful compliment to the story. His panels are full of energy and he packs the page with detail, including lush backgrounds. Allen is so creative when it comes to drawing a character who can turn to stone, that although lifeless, can still make you feel as though he’s alive.

Overall, Secret Weapons is a fantastic series that’s just getting started. It has a really interesting group of characters and ups the danger level with its low-power team being hunted by a “psiot-eating” monster named Rex-O. The creative team has proven talent and is doing a great job telling this story about a team that is very different from what we’re used to seeing in super-hero comics. You should join me in reading this wonderful series!